Genre: Psychological Thriller
Logline: A gifted teenager gets caught up in a web of seduction involving his rich new neighbor and her niece as he investigates a child pornography gang that appears to be operating right under their noses.
CAST LIST:
NARRATION: Vanessa Quagliara
Vanessa – Fiona Mangilla
Liam – Trevor Marlatt
Get to know the writer:
1. What is your screenplay about?
Well here’s the logline: A gifted teenager who gets caught up in a web of seduction involving his rich new neighbor and her niece as he investigates a child pornography gang that appears to be operating right under their noses.
What it’s really about is a teenage boy’s battle in overcoming his self-consciousness – in Liam’s case, over his cleft foot. On a deeper level the film is about the young hero’s hubris born of his unchallenged belief that his expertise in code and hacking provide all the answers as to how people really tick.
2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Psychological thriller/drama
3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
There aren’t so many credible dramas about teenagers struggling to make sense of the adult world, especially a dark and threatening world such as we find here. It’s got a lot in common with the subplot in American Beauty and the relationship there between two teenagers who feel alienated and long to find a space in which they can express themselves freely and creatively.
4. How would you describe this script in two words?
Insightful and dark.
5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
Amor Es Perros
6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
That’s a scary question to ponder… On and off for about 8 years, I think. Several drafts obviously and each one following at least one set of coverage notes. If you crushed that down to continuous time, maybe 12 months.
7. How many stories have you written?
Well over a hundred.
8. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?)
“Time” by Pink Floyd. Spoke to me the most at age 13 and still does at fifty plus.
9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
Trying to get the balance right between drama and thriller. Typically Act 3 was the hardest. I had my climax, but in the early drafts it wasn’t kicking hard enough, or it was somehow bolted on. The ending I have now at least feels like it belongs to the rest and delivers high stakes with a satisfying character arc.
10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
Directing and mentoring my 3 ‘creative’ kids, 21, 17 and 16.
11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your experiences working with the submission platform site?
Easy to use.
12. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
Two things in particular: 1, perhaps an obvious one – it looks like it has some recognition among industry professionals; 2, there seems to be a genuine desire here to help writers move from script to screen and to that end the festival offers some practical help in achieving that goal, step at a time.
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Producer: Matthew Toffolo http://www.matthewtoffolo.com
Director: Kierston Drier
Casting Director: Sean Ballantyne
Editor: John Johnson
Camera Operator: Mary Cox
Thriller/Suspense Film and Writing Festival 